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Tag Archives: Battle for the Soul of Canada


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Go, go, go Joseph!

By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

 

I have twice had the privilege of having one of my sons in the “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” musical.  My middle son Mark, as part of a North Vancouver Choir, was in the Livent Production at the Ford Theatre in downtown Vancouver. My youngest son Andrew  played Zebulun in a Joseph production at the Terry Fox Theatre in Port Coquitlam.  It was a lot of fun and a lot of hard work.  I want to commend all the young people (and not so young) in ‘Joseph’ for the excellent job that they did, pouring their hearts and souls into a high-quality performance.  It was exciting to see my son Andrew shine with life and vitality as he experienced the joy of working together on a high-quality community theatre team.

 

‘Joseph’ is one of those musicals that never seems to wear out, probably because of its theme of biblical proportions!  It was so much fun! Perhaps the most colorful musical ever!  I especially loved that amazing coat: it was red and yellow and green and brown and scarlet and all those other 57 amazing colours.

 

The Joseph musical variety was remarkable: country (One More Angel in Heaven), French-bistro (Those Canaan Days), Disco-rock (Go, Go, Go Joseph), Calypso (Benjamin), and even Elvis (Song of the King). Weeks later, these catchy songs kept running through my head when I was waking up or going to sleep.

 

The Joseph musical began in 1968 as a 20-minute “pop cantata” by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice for a school Easter concert in the UK.  Derek Jewell, then the jazz and pop critic for the SUNDAY TIMES, unexpectedly gave the Joseph Musical national exposure when he wrote: “Throughout its twenty-minute duration it bristles with wonderfully singable tunes. It entertains. It communicates instantly, as all good pop should. And it is a considerable piece of barrier-breaking by its creators.”

 

Tim Rice’s favorite Bible story had long been Joseph and his coat of many colors. Speaking of the Genesis 39 Joseph story, Tim Rice commented: “This great tale has everything — plausible, sympathetic characters, a flawed hero, and redeemed villains … It is a story of triumph against the odds, of love and hate, of forgiveness and optimism. As with all great stories, the teller has no need to spell out the messages if he tells the tale well…”

 

Five years later, Joseph was expanded to 40 minutes in London, and then to 90 minutes in New York.  After Andrew Lloyd Webber’s huge success with Jesus Christ Superstar, his Joseph musical finally hit Broadway in 1982, where it became one of the most enduring and endearing shows of all time.

 

With tens of millions of people having seen Joseph worldwide, the Joseph musical now has a place in The Guinness Book of Records for the world’s longest running touring musical.

 

As well as twelve different professional casts in its thirty-one year history, Joseph has been performed in 15,000 schools or local theatres, involving over 500,000 performers of all ages.  Nowadays there are nearly 500 school or amateur productions each year in the UK, and over 750 in the US & Canada.

 

The song that touched me the deepest in Joseph was “Close Every Door To Me”.  Joseph poignantly sings: “Close every door to me, Keep those I love from me. Children of Israel are never alone, for I know I shall find my own peace of mind, for I have been promised a land of my own.”  This song both faced the depths of Joseph’s despair in prison, and yet clung steadfastly to God’s promises of hope.  Joseph never gave up on his dreams, and neither should we.

 

Even after betrayal again and again by his brothers and others, Joseph saw the big picture, and at the end extended forgiveness to his jealous brothers.  “You meant it for evil”, he said to them, “but God meant it for good.”  All things really do work for good for those who love the Lord.  May you, like Joseph, discover His goodness today.

 

 

The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

 -previously published in the North Shore News/Deep Cove Crier

-award-winning author of the book Battle for the Soul of Canada

P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.

Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.

Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?

Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.

If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you.

  •  

-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form.  Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.


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Golfing Religiously

By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

 

A very intense business man went to the local doctor suffering from stress.  His GP said to him: “I have a simple solution for stress.  If you don’t golf, start.  If you do golf, stop.”

 

The late Bishop Chuck Murphy came from Pawley Island, South Carolina, an area which has dozens of world-class golf courses.  So naturally he loved to tell golf stories.  While in Vancouver BC, he gave us one of his favorites: “Moses, Jesus, and an old man are golfing. Moses steps up to the tee and hits the ball. It goes sailing over the fairway and lands in the water trap . Moses parts the water and chips the ball onto the green.

 

Jesus steps to the tee and hits the ball. It goes sailing over the fairway and lands in the water trap. Jesus walks on the water and chips the ball onto the green.

 

The old man steps up to the tee and hits the ball.  It goes sailing over the fairway and heads for the water trap, a fish jumps up and grabs the ball in its mouth. As the fish is falling back down into the water, an eagle swoops down and grabs the fish in its claws. The eagle flies off over the green, where a lightning bolt shoots from the sky and barely misses it. Startled, the eagle drops the fish When the fish hits the ground, the ball pops out of its mouth and rolls into the hole for a hole-in-one.

 

Jesus then turns to the old man and says “Good shot, Dad!”

Our local Seymour/Deep Cove area is a bit of a golf haven, with two golf courses: Seymour Golf & Country Club , Northlands Golf Course and two driving ranges: Takaya Golf Centre and Seymour Creek Golf Centre.

 

With three active sons in their twenties, I have  had the pleasure of giving them golfing tips.  I have many happy memories of caddying for my father at the UBC Golf Course.  As a teenager, I had a membership at Langara Golf course and used to golf religiously three times a week.  I even golfed in the snow which was quite a feat.  Because my parents had paid for my membership, I remember feeling guilty if I wasn’t golfing enough!

 

My eldest son James, who has worked for sixteen years at Safeway, wanted to be ready for a Safeway Golf tournament.  After teaching my son everything I knew about golfing, I decided that it was time to go to the Parkgate Library and listen to the pros.  Fortunately the library had dozens of golf books and videos.  There is even a ‘Golf Rules & Etiquette for DUMMIES’ book!  Every book and video had literally hundreds of helpful tips about one’s grip, a proper backswing, a proper stance, getting out of bunkers, and secrets of putting.  From Jack Nicklaus to Arnold Palmer, all of them seemed eager to turn my sons and I into the next golfing superstar.  You may be happy to know that after looking at many videos and books, I have decided not to quit my day-job.  As professional golfers are away on tournaments for well over half the year, my wife would miss me too much.  And then there is that little problem of getting it on the green.

 

One of the most fascinating golf books that I found at the library was The Way of An Eagle by  Robert Darden and PJ Richardson.  It features the stories of more than forty top golfers who shared the secrets of their success on and off the golf course.  Common to all the golfers was a realization that golfing itself was not enough, that there was more to life, and that life could be discovered through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  All of these golfers had found a greater inner peace and serenity that carried them through the ups and downs of intense tournament life.

 

As a teenage golfer, no matter how well I did, it didn’t feel good enough.  I struggled with perfectionism and performance-orientation.  But now like the pro golfers in the Way of the Eagle book, I have found that my identity doesn’t come from how well I do.  It comes from God himself who loves me no matter how well or poorly I play.  God has given me an inner peace through Jesus Christ that nothing can steal away from me.  As I help my sons learn how to golf, I pray that they may carry this message of inner peace with them wherever they go.

 

The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

-previously published in the North Shore News/Deep Cove Crier

-award-winning author of the book Battle for the Soul of Canada

P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.

Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.

Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?

Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.

If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you.

  •  

-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form.  Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.


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Doctors make a difference

By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

 

 Doctors make a difference. Prayer makes a difference.  There is no competition between medicine and prayer.  They fit together, hand in glove.

 

I wrote an article in the Feb 1994 Deep Cove Crier about the medical condition “Spasmodic Dysphonia” that I have successfully battled with.

 

An article in a North Shore-wide newspaper commented about myself: “He seems to be always smiling and is said to be ‘very funny’, despite a serious speech impediment.”  As many of you know, I lost my voice 38 years ago in 1980 for 18 months in the early days of ordained ministry. The condition is called ‘spasmodic dysphonia’  .  It was caused by a rare viral throat infection which happens statistically to one in five million people, something like winning the lottery in reverse. Spasmodic Dysphonia causes the vocal chords to overadduct (overshut) on a spasmodic or intermittent basis, cutting off words or parts of sentences. Spasmodic Dysphonia is not caused by stress, but sometimes is more noticeable under stress.

 

Thirty-six years ago, I had surgery at VGH by Dr. Murray Morrison in a successful operation that allowed me to speak again and go back preaching after being off for a year. My GP thought that I would never preach again, and he would have been correct, except for having had this surgery on May 25th 1982. They cut the left laryngeal nerve of the left vocal chord, which stopped the adducting/shutting of that chord. As the right chord still overadducted/overshut, it balanced out. After my surgery, my voice was free of the spasms, but was initially much quieter and more breathy.

 

This successful surgery was still proving effective until August 2003 when I developed laryngitis that wouldn’t go away.  To deal with the laryngitis, I took nine months of helpful speech therapy with Margy Smith, a very gifted speech therapist on the North Shore.  She took me a long way along the road of recovery, but finally my otolaryngologist (ear, nose & throat specialist) Dr. Murray Morrison recommended that I take the botox treatment to loosen the overtightness of the vocal chords.  Dr. Morrison’s investigation showed that my left laryngeal nerve has re-enervated or regenerated itself and thereby contributed to an overshutting of the vocal chords once again. This was the reason for my susceptibility to laryngitis over the past year. The overshutting of the vocal chords is like a door continually slamming shut.

 

After careful research, prayer, and reflection, I went ahead with the botox treatment at VGH (Vancouver General Hospital). It took about 5 minutes!  The botox treatment by Dr. Murray Morrison allowed a fine-tuning of the benefits of my previous 1982 surgery. The botox was injected into both laryngeal nerves, thereby loosening the vocal chord shutting (adducting) on both sides.  When I told people that I had a botox treatment, some people assumed that I was worried about middle-age wrinkles!  But in fact botox is primarily a medical therapy to deal with a range of dystonias, including vocal chord spasming.

 

My wife and parents were thrilled by the elimination of the spasming through the botox treatment. My mother didn’t initially recognize my voice on the phone. The botox treatment lasts for three months, and then is redone by Dr. Morrison at VGH.  It initially overloosens the vocal chords a bit, with the result that my voice will be somewhat breathy and quieter to start with. The treatment greatly enhances my ability to read out loud the liturgy and scriptures, which has been more difficult than spontaneous preaching. Over the next few weeks, the vocal chords are gradually tightening again, resulting in a less breathy voice and less quiet voice.

 

I am so grateful to God for advances in modern medical science that help people like myself in such practical ways.  I am so grateful to God for people like you reading this article, many of whom I know have been praying for me.  I have had several people specifically pray: “Ed Hird will not be silenced”.  I am very happy with this new medical step.  It is so exciting to be able to speak freely without being cut off in mid-sentence.  Thank God that prayer and medicine can be best friends.

 

 

The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

-previously published in the North Shore News/Deep Cove Crier

-award-winning author of the book Battle for the Soul of Canada

P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.

Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.

Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?

Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.

If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you.

  •  

-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form.  Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.


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Connections: The Christian Ashram Retreat Experience

By Rev Dr Ed Hird, Bishop’s Chaplain for The Anglican Mission in Canada

Our Bishop Silas Ng and Rev Josh Wilton led us in a four-day retreat called the BC Christian Ashram.  Bishop Silas, who has completed his doctoral thesis on micro/macrodiscipleship, gave five helpful talks* on how to have a daily quiet time, and the difference which this discipline makes in our Christian walk.  A shocking discovery by our Bishop Silas is that less than 10% of Christians have a regular daily quiet time.  This serious lack, says Bishop Silas, must be addressed if we are to be effective in church planting and renewal.  To assist people in their daily quiet time, Bishop Silas is leading people through the entire bible one chapter a day in his daily prayer blog.

Rev Josh Wilton is the lead pastor of The Table in Victoria BC. Before being commissioned to churchplant, Josh+ served for four years as our Newcomer Pastor and (later) as Assistant Priest. Josh+ taught on the relevance of the Ten Commandments for our everyday living, focusing on freedom from the idols in our life, and on the need for regular Sabbath rest in our workaholic North American culture.

There is a strong youth and young adult ministry at the BC Christian Ashram. One of the young adults at the Ashram told me that  they “enjoyed the chance to get away, to refocus on God, to reconnect with old friends.”  Basically, the Christian Ashram retreat is about connections: connecting with God and the people around you.

The United Christian Ashram movement has many summer retreats throughout North America and around the world, with the largest one drawing over 400 in the Maritimes. It was founded in 1930 by Dr. E. Stanley Jones in India where he served as a missionary for over 50 years.  Dr Jones during his life was the world’s most widely read spiritual writer, with twenty-eight books selling millions of copies.

My wife began attending the BC Christian Ashram in 1974 where she was powerfully impacted by the Holy Spirit.  Many members of her family have since given their lives to Christ through the Christian Ashram. I began attending 45 years ago, and now serve as the BC Director.  You are invited to have a vacation with God throughout North America.

Dial in today to check out the online July 10th to 12th North American Christian Ashram. There is no registration cost. Donations are welcome. (If you have any trouble using Google Chrome to register, just use your mouse’s scroll button.)

Rev Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

-previously published in the North Shore News/Deep Cove Crier

-award-winning author of the book Battle for the Soul of Canada

P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.

Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.

Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?

Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.

If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you.

-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form.  Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca


To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.


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Chief Joseph Brant: Canadian Hero

By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

My wife and I had the privilege of attending the First Peoples Forgiven Summit in Ottawa.  During that time we were able to meet a number of Mohawk believers, including Jonathan Maracle of Broken Walls who led us in remarkable worship music.  Canada’s most famous Mohawk was Chief Joseph Brant.  Recently the Canadian Royal Mint produced a Canadian Loonie with the imprint of Chief Joseph Brant  (1742-1807).  More Canadians need to hear this story of this Canadian hero.  He was described by Mark Jodoin as having the mind of a statesman, the heart of a leader, and the soul of a warrior. Without the military and spiritual support of Chief Brant, Canada would have likely never survived.

Chief Joseph Brant’s Mohawk name was Thayendanegea which means “two sticks bound together for strength”.  Isabel Thompson Kelsay notes that “the most famous (aboriginal) who ever lived, has been for two centuries a virtual unknown.”   I suspect that he is unknown to most North Americans because he chose the side of Canada in the American revolutionary war.  As Canada’s premier First Nations leader, Brant had the privilege of meeting both Georges in person: King George III and President George Washington.

Brant learned to speak, read and write English at a New Hampshire school led by Rev Wheelock. Wheelock described Brant as being “of a sprightly genius, a manly and gentle deportment, and of a modest, courteous and benevolent temper.”  In 1772, Brant was then mentored by Rev John Stuart, being trained in the art of Bible and Prayer Book translation.  During that time, Brant developed a deep prayer life, becoming a committed Anglican Christian.

During the American Revolutionary war, Brant was falsely accused of committing atrocities in locations which he was not present, including the tragic Wyoming and Cherry Valley Massacres.  Those who knew Brant well testified that he often prevented atrocities through the use of his persuasive leadership. As a devout Anglican Christian, he exhibited compassion and humanity, especially towards women, children, and non-combatants. American Colonel Ichabod Alden commented that he “should much rather fall into the hands of Brant than either of them [Loyalists and Tories].”  It was frequently said of Joseph Brant that during the American revolution, he fought with a tomahawk in one hand, a copy of the New Testament in the other.

Joseph Brant’s father was one of the sachem/chiefs, known as the Four Indian Kings, who visited Queen Anne in 1710.  These chiefs asked ‘for missionaries to be sent to the People of the Longhouse to teach them more about Christianity.”  Queen Anne sent this request to the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, promising to build them a chapel. In 1711, Queen Anne’s Royal Chapel was built in the Mohawk Valley in New York State.  When the Mohawks relocated to Southern Ontario, the Mohawk Royal Chapel was rebuilt there in 1785.  Joseph Brant’s grave is located right next to the historic Mohawk Chapel, the oldest protestant church in Ontario. Just this past July, Queen Elizabeth, while visiting Ontario, presented the Mohawk Chapel with a set of eight silver hand bells engraved ‘The Silver Chain of Friendship 1710-2010’.

On each side of the Mohawk Chapel pulpit are two tablets in the Mohawk language of the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments.  Joseph Brant was a brilliant linguist translating the Bible and Anglican Prayer Book into Mohawk (of which there are microfiche copies at Simon Fraser University).  He also wrote a concise history of the Bible and a Mohawk language catechism. Brant spoke at least three and possibly all of the Six Nations’ languages.  When the Chapel was dedicated in 1788, each person was given a Mohawk book containing the Gospel of Mark and the Anglican Prayer Book.  At that celebration, sixty five Mohawks were baptized and three couples were married.

When Joseph Brant first visited England in 1775, he was described by a British commander as ‘His Majesty’s greatest North American subject.’, and painted in full aboriginal regalia by George Romney.  Receiving a captain’s commission, Brant met with the King on two occasions, with a dinner being held in his honour. Brant was honoured by the English leaders in the arts, letters and government, including James Boswell, the famed biographer of Samuel Johnson.

In 1779 Brant was commissioned by the King as ‘captain of the Northern Confederate Indians’ in recognition of his “astonishing activity and success’. Brant was described as “the perfect soldier, possessed of remarkable stamina, courage under fire, and dedicated to the cause, an able and inspiring leader and a complete gentleman.”

Joseph Brant’s Six Nations were tragically driven out of their homeland in Central New York.  Brant was hurt that in granting their Mohawk homeland in Central New York State to the Americans, England had ‘sold the Indians to the US Congress’.  Writing to King George III, he reminded the British that “we, the Mohawks, were the first Indian Nation that took you by hand and invited you to live among us, treating you with kindness…”  The Six Nations were eventually resettled by Governor Frederick Haldimand in the Grand River area around modern-day Brantford.  The British realized that locating the Six Nations in the Grand River area would be a natural protection against any future American invasion.  Initially the Mississauga First Nation resisted the concept of having their former foes on their land.  One Mississauga Chief Pokquan however persuaded his other chiefs by arguing that other aboriginals would be better neighbours than European settlers, and that Brant’s knowledge of the British could prove useful.

The term Brantford comes from Brant’s Ford, the shallow part of the Grand River that could be forded.  The first years at Brantford were difficult as there was a drought with game being hard to find.  Throughout all the challenges, Chief Brant’s deep faith sustained him.  Chief Brant’s sacrificial love for God and nation should inspire all of us.  He memorably said: “No person among us desires any other reward for performing a brave and worthwhile action but the consciousness of having served one’s nation.”

May all of us be willing to learn from the bravery and loyalty of Chief Joseph Brant.

The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

-previously published in the North Shore News/Deep Cove Crier

-award-winning author of the book Battle for the Soul of Canada

P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.

Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.

Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?

Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.

If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you.

-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form.  Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca


To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.


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Leaving and Cleaving: The Secret to a Healthy Marriage

By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

 

What does it take to make a good marriage, or perhaps to make a good marriage better?

 

Veteran counselors, John & Paula Sanford, commented that “the greatest and most common difficulty we encounter in marital counselling is this matter of leaving and cleaving.”  So many couples that I know are stuck in their relationship, because they have never really left their father and mother.  Leaving is more than just physical leaving.  Leaving is also emotional, spiritual, and social.  Without adequate leaving, there can never be adequate cleaving.  True intimacy requires a death to an old way of relating in order to birth a new level of relationship with one’s spouse.

 

You may have heard the following in wedding services: “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh”.  It is actually a quote from the book of Genesis Chapter 2 vs. 24, and reaffirmed by Jesus in Matthew 19:5.  Having taken many marriage services over the years, I have had the opportunity to observe both healthy and unhealthy relationships.  The unhealthy marriages invariably are stuck in the area of leaving.  There is an over-bonding, a ‘bentness’ towards one’s parents that keeps the couple from moving forward.  It is as if the umbilical chord, spiritually speaking, has never really been cut.

 

John & Paula Sanford comment that “independence or leaving is the first and continuing price of ongoing life.”  Leaving is a two-way street.  It is not only the couple that needs to leave, but also the parents that need to release their adult children to their new destiny.  That is why marriage services include the question: ‘Do you, members of the families of N. and N., give your blessing to this marriage?’  “Letting go and letting God” can be very painful for parents who have spent much of their lives child-rearing.  But unless we choose to let go, we emotionally kill and crush the very ones we love.

 

The powerful 1990 Irish movie “The Field’ illustrate the vital importance of letting go the ones we love.  The Irish father ‘Bull’ McCabe so wanted to cling to his son Tadgh that his inability to let him go ultimately brought about his son’s destruction.

 

Leaving without cleaving is also insufficient.  Healthy marriages require a commitment to cleaving.  John & Paula Sanford hold that “cleaving is the primary calling and task of honorable marriage…Cleaving is ‘a matter first of opening to one’s mate, then closing to all others”.  That is why marriage services will include the phrase: “forsaking all others, to be faithful to her/him so long as you both shall live”

 

Cleaving is not a one-time decision, but rather a daily decision to keep one’s heart open to one’s spouse, no matter what the pain and struggle.  It is always easy to give in to the temptation to isolate oneself and disconnect from real intimacy.  Cleaving is the commitment to love one’s spouse sacrificially, even to the point of laying down one’s life for them.  Cleaving is the commitment to washing one’s spouse’s feet, to serving them in big and little ways.  Cleaving is the commitment to listening deeply and sensitively when one would rather watch TV or get lost in a book.

 

One of the healthiest marriages that I know of is my late parents’ marriage.  They grew together over 66 years in a way that deeply inspires me.  They learned through experience the importance of leaving one’s parents, of setting healthy boundaries so that their own marriage could blossom.  My parents also modeled for me the biblical call to true cleaving and intimacy.  After 66 years of marriage, they were better friends than ever.  That is what I want for my children in their future marriages, when they leave us and cleave to their spouses.

 

Leaving and cleaving is the secret to a healthy marriage.  My prayer for those reading this article is that each of us may learn how to truly leave our parents so that we may truly cleave to our spouse.

The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

-previously published in the North Shore News/Deep Cove Crier

-award-winning author of the book Battle for the Soul of Canada

P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.

Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.

Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?

Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.

If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you.

  •  

-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form.  Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.


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Louis Riel: Patriote Canadien ?

par Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

 

Qui était Louis Riel ? Était-il un patriote, un dissident, ou les deux ?

Louis Riel est né à Saint-Boniface (Winnipeg, Manitoba) le 22 octobre 1844, héritant de son père un mélange de sang français, irlandais et indigène, avec le français comme héritage dominant.

Sa mère, Julie, envoya son fils Louis pour devenir le premier prêtre Metis du Canada. Cependant,  la mort de son père en 1864 pesa fortement sur Louis et entraina une fin abrupte à sa formation au seminaire. Quatre mois avant de devenir prêtre, Louis rencontra une jeune fille de Montréal, en tomba amoureux, et décida de se marier. Il partit de l’université de Montréal sans obtenir son diplome.  Ses plans de mariage se sont alors effondrés quand ses parents de sa fiancée lui interdirent cette union à un Metis. Rendu amer par ce rejet raciste, Riel quitta Montréal en 1866, sans épouse, sans carrière, sans argent.

Retournant chez lui dans la colonie de Red River, Riel constata que les sauterelles avaient dévasté la terre. Avec la cession de l’influence de la Companie de la Baie D’ Hudson, le Canada de l’est et les Etats-Unis semblaient prêts à engloutir la colonie de Red River. Les Metis se sont sentis oubliés, ignorés et abandonnés sur le plan politique.

Sans consulter convenablement les 12 000 habitants de Red River, la Compagnie de la Baie d’ Hudson venda la colonie au Canada de l’est. Louis Riel rassembla les Metis en 1869 pour prendre le pouvoir du fort Garry, le centre nerveux de la CBH. Le but de Riel était de forcer le gouvernement fédéral à négocier l’admission du Manitoba dans la confédération comme province officielle, et non comme territoire. Le nom de la provinceManitoba, plutôt que l’Assiniboia, qui était le nom territorial, vena de Louis Riel lui-même.

Louis Riel a proclamé que le Metis étaient les sujets loyaux de sa majesté, la reine de l’Angleterre.  “Si nous sommes des rebelles”, a dit Riel, “nous sommes des rebelles contre la compagnie qui nous vendue, et qui est prête à nous livrer, et contre le Canada qui veut nous acheter. Nous ne sommes pas en révolte  contre la suprématie britannique qui n’a toujours pas donné son approbation pour le transfert final du pays. Nous voulons que les habitants de RedRiver soit un peuple libre”.

Les Américains ont observé la rébellion de Red River avec beaucoup d’intérêt. Ignatius Donnelly, un ancien lieutenant-gouverneur du Minnesota, dit : “Si les revolutionnistesde Red River sont encouragés et soutenus, nous pourrions dans quelques années, peut-être même quelques mois, voir les étoiles et les raies brandir de Fort Garry, des eaux du détroit de Puget Sound, et le long du rivage de Vancouver”. A l’été1870, Nathanial F. Langford et l’ex-gouverneur du Minnesota Marshall ont visité Riel au Fort Garry. Ils ont promis à Riel quatre millions dedollars, des pistolets, des munitions, des mercennaires et des approvisionnements pour se maintenir jusqu’à ce que son gouvernement ait été reconnu par les Etats-Unis. Riel refusa.

Après que William O’Donohogue ait déchiré le drapeau de  l’union Jack, Riel reposta immédiatement l’union Jack avec des ordres de tirer n’importe quel homme qui oserait le toucher. En dépit de sa réputation de rebelle, Louis Riel s’est montré un patriote canadien qui, à lui seul empêcha le Canada occidental d’être absorbé par les Etats-Unis. Riel a écrit cette prière dans son journal intime : Oh mon Dieu! Sauvez-moi du malheur d’être impliqué avec les Etats-Unis. Laissez les Etats-Unis nous protéger indirectement, spontanément, par un acte de providence, mais sans aucun engagement ou accord de notre part”.  Prophétiquement, Riel a également inscrit dans son journal intime: “Dieu m’a révélé que le gouvernement des Etats-Unis va devenir extraordinairement puissant”.

Les Metis sont une bande de lâches”, vantait Thomas Scott. “Ils n’oseront pas me tirer”. S’il n’était pas pour l’approbation de Riel du tir tragique de l’anglais Thomas Scott parRiel, il auraitpu aboutir au Cabinet fédéral de John A.Macdonald. La mort de Thomas Scott a fait de Riel l’homme le plus détesté du Canada.

Après sa fuite aux Etats-Unis, Riel a été alors élu comme MP du Manitoba.

La législature du Québec en1874 a passé une résolution unanime demandant au Gouverneur-Général d’accorder l’amnistie à Riel. La même année, après la réélection de Louis Riel comme MP, il est entré dans le bâtiment du parlement, a signé le registre, et a juré un serment d’allégeance à la Reine Victoria avant de se échapper pour éviter l’arrestation. La Chambre des Communes, outrée, l’a expulsé avec une majorité 56-vote.

Exilé au Montana, Riel s’est marié et est devenu un bon citoyen américain, respectueux des lois. En 1884, avec l’abattage du bison, plusieurs gens de premières nations et Métis mourraient de faim. Les Metis en Saskatchewan ont convaincu Riel de retourner au Canada. Riel a envoyé une pétition à Ottawa exigeant que les Metis recoivent les titres de la terre qu’ils occupaient et que les districts de Saskatchewan, Assiniboia et Alberta recoivent le statut provincial. Au lieu de cela, le gouvernement fédéral a établit une commission. En l’absence d’action concrète, Louis Riel et ses partisans ont décidé de renouveller leurs révendications en essayant de capturer le fort Carlton.

En raison du chemin de fer du Canadien Pacifique, mon arrière-grand-père Oliver Allen a été envoyé avec la milice de Toronto pour rapidement vaincre Riel à Batoche. Avec des pistolets Gatling américains avec 1.200 séries par minute, la bataille n’a pas duré longtemps. Tandis qu’il était dans l’ouest, Oliver Allen rencontra sa future épouse Mary Mclean, une journaliste de Regina bien disposé à l’égard de Louis Riel. Juste avant la pendaison de Riel, Mary Mclean s’est déguisé en prêtre catholique afin d’interviewer Riel, il a ecrit cette prière dans son journal intime : “Seigneur Jésus, je vous aime. J’aime tout lié à vous… Seigneur Jésus, faites-moi la même faveur que vous avez fait pour le bon voleur ; dans votre pitié infinie, laissez-moi entrer au paradis le jour même de ma mort”.

Tour Rev. Dr. Ed Et Marc Hird,

Un article pour les nouvelles du Rivage de Nord « Parlant Spirituel » Colonne

-award-winning author of the book Battle for the Soul of Canada

P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.

Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.

Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?

Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.

If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you.

  •  

-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form.  Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable. Pour recevoir une copie signée en Amérique du Nord, transférez simplement à ed_hird@telus.net, en indiquant votre adresse. Les chèques sont également acceptés.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.

Pour acheter l'un de nos six livres en livre de poche ou en ebook sur Amazon, cliquez simplement sur ce lien.


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La passion de Louis Riel

par Rev Dr Ed Hird

 

‘La  première fois que j’ai reçu l’eucharistie sainte, je tremblais,’ a dit Louis Riel. Né à St Boniface (Winnipeg) le  22 octobre, 1844, le jeune Louis Riel a eu un esprit très sensible et passionné avec un manque de tolérance pour l’intimidation.  Selon Mousseau, « rien  ne l’a irrité autant qu’un abus de force contre le faible. »   Riel a également eu une vie profonde de prière et du jeûne, commentant en son journal intime : « Le jeûne et la  prière sont les deux grandes clefs au succès à temps et l’éternité.  Rien ne peut résister jeûner quand il est fait avec l’humilité, la sincérité et la dévotion. Le jeûne ouvre des prisons et libère les criminelles.  Trois ou quatre jours de jeûne accomplissent-ils plus qu’une armée sur le champ de bataille… »

Sa mère, Julie, avait voulu être une nonne. Au lieu de cela elle a envoyé son fils prairie-né par le Red River en 1858 à Montréal pour devenir le premier prêtre Métis du Canada.  Riel a été profondément effectuer par la spiritualité de sa mère, notant que « les caractéristiques  réfléchissantes et calmes de ma mère, avec ses yeux constamment tournés vers le ciel, son respect, son attention, sa dévotion à ses engagements religieux, ont toujours laissé sur moi l’impression la plus profonde de son bon exemple. »  Riel a été très centré sur Christ, priant en son journal intime : « Lord Jésus, je t’aime. J’aime tout lier à vous. »

Vous pouvez imaginer le choc de sa mère quand Louis a abandonné l’université de Montréal seulement quatre mois avant de son ordination. Louis est allé vivre avec les nonnes grises dans leur couvent. La mort récente de son père avait pesé très fortement sur Louis comme la nouvelle tête de la famille Riel. De plus compliquer ses plans d’ordination, il s’était secrètement fiancé à Marie Julie Guernon, seulement d’avoir les   fiançailles annulées par ses parents racistes. En son journal intime, Riel a commenté : ‘Les hommes peuvent lutter contre la volonté de Dieu et s’opposent à sa réalisation, mais ils ne réussissent jamais à l’exclure des conseils des affaires humaines. Dieu a tout dans son soin. Ayez la confiance en Jésus Christ.’

Retournant à Winnipeg, il a découvert la dévastation agricole, sociale, et politique, particulièrement parmi son peuple, les Métis. Quand Riel défendait les droites des Métis, il a réveillé notre nation somnolente du Canada. Après avoir repris le fort Garry de la Compagnie de la Baie D’Hudson, Riel a forcé avec succès le Premier ministre MacDonald à d’identifier des droites de terre des Métis, et d’accepter Manitoba dans la confédération comme province, et pas simplement comme un territoire. Riel a indiqué au négociateur fédéral Donald Smith : « Nous voulons seulement nos droites justes comme des sujets britanniques, et nous voudrions que les Anglais nous joignent simplement pour obtenir ces droits. »  Le 12 mai, 1870, l’acte de Manitoba, basé sur le Métis “liste des droites,” a été ratifié par le Parlement canadien.

La tragédie de la rébellion de Red River était le tir de Thomas Scott que Riel a autorisé. En conséquence, le Canada de l’est ne se contenterait pas avec moins que la tête de Riel sur un plat. Les troupes de colonel Wolseley ont voulu le sang.  Laissant le fort Garry, Riel a dit, « Nous avons fuit  parce qu’il semble que nous avons été trompés. »  L’évêque Tache plus tard a dit concernant l’amnistie promise : ‘L’honorable John MacDonald a menti comme un ‘trooper’. »

En s’échappant aux Etats-Unis, Riel s’est soulagé, disant : « N’importe ce qui se passe maintenant, les droites du Métis sont assurées par l’acte de Manitoba ; c’est ce que je voulais- ma mission est fini. »  Écrivant à son bon ami, l’évêque Tache, le 9 septembre 1870, Riel a dit : « Ma vie appartient au Seigneur. Laisse-le faire ce qu’il souhaite avec elle.’

La période de l’exil aux Etats-Unis était très douloureuse pour Louis Riel. L’évêque Bourget a soulagé Riel en lui indiquant que « …Le Seigneur, qui vous a toujours mené et vous a aidé jusqu’à présent, ne vous abandonnera pas dans les heures les plus foncées de votre vie. Parce qu’Il vous a donné une mission que vous devez accomplir à tous les égards. »  Riel a commencé à se déplacer plus dans le prophétique, parfois éprouvant la joie intense et la douleur profonde dans des offices. Avec un grand effort, Riel a essayé de supprimer ses larmes : « Ma douleur était aussi intense que ma joie. »

Au journal intime de Riel, il a mémorablement dit : « L’Esprit de Dieu a pénétré mon cerveau dès que j’ai commencé à dormir.  L’Esprit de Dieu nous affecte où Il souhaite, et dans la mesure qu’Il voudrait. »

À cause de l’intensité de ses expériences spirituelles, ses amis ont caché Riel dans un asile aliéné de Montréal. Après avoir été libéré en 1878, Riel a commenté : «Je faisais semblant d’être fou. J’ai réussi si bon que tout le monde ait cru que j’étais vraiment fou. » La folie de Riel était peut-être comme la folie simulée du roi David avant les Philistins (1 Samuel 18:13).  Riel a indiqué : « Si je disparais ou si je perds mon esprit, leur persécution implacable peut-être relâcherait… Donc mes ennemis cesseraient probablement de persécuter mon peuple Métis. »

En 1884, Riel est revenu du Montana avec sa famille, à la demande pressante des Métis affamés, à Batoche, Saskatchewan. Wilfrid Laurier, être plus tard Premier ministre libéral, plus tard avoué sur le plancher de la Chambre des Communes : « Si j’étais né sur les banques de la Saskatchewan, j’aurais épaulé moi-même un mousquet au combat contre la négligence des gouvernements et l’avarice sans scrupule des spéculateurs. »  Riel a pétitionné sans succès le gouvernement fédéral avant d’essayer de conquérir le fort Carlton. « Je peux presque le dire, »  Louis Riel a indiqué, « notre cause secoue la confédération canadienne d’une extrémité du pays à l’autre. Il gagne de force chaque jour. »

Cependant la cause de Riel  a été militairement condamnée. La plupart des 250 Métis avaient des fusils de chasse ou de vieux museau-chargeurs, mais quelques-uns ont eu seulement des arcs et des flèches. La milice de Toronto, qui incluait mon grand-grand-père Oliver Allen et 1,000 autres hommes, a eu des Sniders, des Winchesters, des canons et un pistolet de Gatling, le précurseur de la mitrailleuse. Le pistolet de Gatling leur avait été prêté par l’armée des USA, et actionné par un lieutenant américain, Arthur Howard. Tout en conquérant Riel, mon grand-grand-père a rencontré ma grand-grand-mère, Mary Mclean, qui était une journaliste de ‘Regina Leader’ bien disposée à l’égard de Louis Riel. Juste avant la pendaison de Riel, Mary Mclean, qui parlait le français couramment, s’est déguisé en prêtre catholique afin d’interviewer Riel. Son rédacteur de journal lui avait indiqué : « Vous devez avoir une interview avec Riel si vous devez surpasser la force entière de police dans le Nord-Ouest. » Riel a dit à mon grand-grand-mère le 19 novembre 1885 : « Quand je vous ai vu la première fois au procès, je vous ai aimé. »  Peu de temps après, mes grand-grand-pères Oliver et Mary se sont épousés et déménager pour commencer la vie à nouveau en Colombie Britannique.

Avant que Riel soit mort, il a passionnément prié en son journal intime : « Jésus, auteur de la vie ! Soutenez-nous dans toutes les batailles de cette vie et, sur notre dernier jour, donnez-nous la vie éternelle. Jésus, donnez-moi la grâce de savoir vraiment votre beauté ! Donnez-moi la grâce de vous aimer vraiment. Jésus, accordez-moi la grâce de savoir comment beau vous êtes ; accorde-moi la grâce de vous chérir. »

Ma prière  est que nous aussi pouvons découvrir la passion de Louis Riel pour son sauveur Jésus Christ.

 

Révérend Dr Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

-previously published in the North Shore News/Deep Cove Crier

-award-winning author of the book Battle for the Soul of Canada

P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.

Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.

Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?

Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.

If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you.

  •  

-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form.  Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable. Pour recevoir une copie signée en Amérique du Nord, transférez simplement à ed_hird@telus.net, en indiquant votre adresse. Les chèques sont également acceptés.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca


To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.
Pour acheter l'un de nos six livres en livre de poche ou en ebook sur Amazon, cliquez simplement sur ce lien.


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The Passion of Louis Riel

By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

 

‘The first time I received the Holy Eucharist, I was trembling,” said Louis Riel.  Born at St. Boniface (Winnipeg) on October 22nd 1844, young Louis Riel had a very sensitive, passionate spirit with zero tolerance for bullying.  According to Mousseau, ‘nothing irritated him as much as an abuse of strength against the weak.’  Riel also had a deep life of prayer and fasting, commenting in his diary: “Fasting and prayer are the two great keys to success in time and eternity…Nothing can resist fasting when it is done with humility, sincerity and devotion.  Fasting opens prisons and releases the most hardened criminals…Three or four days of fasting accomplish more than an army on the field of battle…”

 

His mother Julie had wanted to be a nun.  Instead she sent her Red River prairie-born son in 1858 to Montreal to become Canada’s first Metis priest.  Riel was deeply impacted by his mother’s spirituality, noting that “the calm reflective features of my mother, her eyes constantly toward towards heaven, her respect, her attention, her devotion to her religious obligations always left upon me the deepest impression of her good example.” Riel was very Christ-centered, praying in his diary: “Lord Jesus, I love you.  I love everything associated with You.”

 

You can imagine the shock to his mother when Louis dropped out of the College of Montreal just four months before his ordination. Louis went to live with the Grey Nuns in their convent.  His father’s recent death had weighed very heavily on Louis as the new head of the Riel family.  Also complicating his ordination plans was that he had secretly become engaged to Marie Julie Guernon, only to have the engagement quashed by her racist parents.  In his diary, Riel commented: “Men can struggle as they will against the will of God and oppose its fulfillment, but they never succeed in excluding it from the guidance of human affairs.  God has everything in His care.  Have confidence in Jesus Christ…”

 

Returning to Winnipeg, he discovered agricultural, social, and political devastation, especially among his Metis people.  When Riel stood up for the rights of the Metis, he woke up our sleepy Canada nation.  After taking over the Hudson Bay Company’s Fort Garry, Riel successfully forced Prime Minister MacDonald to recognize Metis land rights, and to accept Manitoba into Confederation as a full Province, and not just another territory.  Riel stated to the Federal negotiator Donald Smith: ‘We want only our just rights as British subjects, and we want the English to join us simply to obtain these.’  On May 12, 1870, the Manitoba Act, based on the Métis “List of Rights,” was passed by the Canadian Parliament.

 

The tragedy of the Red River Rebellion was the Riel-authorized shooting of Thomas Scott.  As a result, Eastern Canada would settle for nothing less than Riel’s head on a platter.  Colonel Wolseley’s troops wanted blood.  Leaving Fort Garry, Riel said: “We have fled because it appears that we have been deceived.”  Bishop Tache later said regarding the promised amnesty: ‘The Rt. Honourable John A MacDonald lied like a trooper’

 

In escaping to the USA, Riel comforted himself, saying: “No matter what happens now, the rights of the Metis are assured by the Manitoba Act; that is what I wanted –my mission is finished.”  Writing to his good friend Bishop Tache on Sept 9th 1870, Riel said: “My life belongs to God.  Let him do what He wishes with it.”

 

The time of exile in the USA was very painful for Louis Riel.  Bishop Bourget comforted Riel telling him that “…God, who has always led you and assisted you up to the present time, will not abandon you in the darkest hours of your life.  For he has given you a mission which you must fulfill in all respects.”  Riel began to move more in the prophetic, sometimes experiencing intense joy and deep sorrow in church services. With a great effort, Riel tried to suppress his weeping: “My pain was as intense as my joy”.  In Riel’s diary, he memorably said: “The Spirit of God penetrated my brain as soon as I fell asleep…The Spirit of God affects us where He wishes, and to the extent that suits Him.”

 

Because of the intensity of his spiritual experiences, his friends hid Riel in a Montreal insane asylum.  After being released in 1878, Riel commented: “I did pretend to be mad.  I succeeded so well that everybody believed that I really was mad.”  Perhaps Riel’s insanity was like King David’s feigned insanity before the Philistines (1 Samuel 18:13).  Riel stated: “If I did disappear or if I should lose my mind, their relentless persecution may be relaxed…Then my enemies would probably cease persecuting my Metis people.”

 

In 1884, Riel returned from Montana with his family, at the urgent request of the starving Metis, to Batoche, Saskatchewan. Wilfrid Laurier, later to be Liberal Prime Minister, later declared on the floor of the House of Commons: “Had I been born on the banks of the Saskatchewan, I would myself have shouldered a musket to fight against the neglect of governments and the shameless greed of speculators.”  Riel unsuccessfully petitioned the federal government before attempting to capture Fort Carlton.  “I can almost say it”, noted Louis Riel, “our cause is shaking the Canadian Confederation from one end of the country to the other.  It is gaining strength daily.”

 

Riel’s cause however was militarily doomed.  Most of the 250 Metis had shotguns or old muzzle-loaders, but a few had only bows and arrows.  My great-grandfather Oliver Allen, as part of the 1,000-strong Toronto militia, had Sniders, Winchesters, cannon and a Gatling gun- the forerunner of the machine gun.  The Gatling gun had been loaned to them by the US Army, and operated by an American Lieutenant Arthur Howard. While conquering Riel, my great-grandfather met my great-grandmother Mary Mclean a Regina Leader news-reporter sympathetic to Louis Riel.  Right before Riel’s hanging, Mary Mclean, who was fluent in French, disguised herself as a Catholic priest in order to interview Riel.  Her newspaper editor Nicholas Flood Davin had told her: “An interview must be had with Riel if you have to outwit the whole police force of the North-west.” Riel said to my great-grandmother on Nov 19th 1885: “When I first saw you at the trial, I loved you.” Shortly after, my great-grandparents Oliver and Mary married and relocated to start life anew in BC!

Sadly, because reporters were not given bylines in those days, my greatgrandmother Mary Mclean was not always acknowledged by historians.  Some even falsely suggested until recently that Nicholas Flood Davin was the pretend Catholic priest/reporter loved by Riel.

Before Riel died, he passionately prayed in his diary: “Jesus, author of life!  Sustain us in all the battles of this life and, on our last day, give us eternal life.  Jesus, give me the grace to really know your beauty!  Grant me the grace to really love You.  Jesus, grant me the grace to know how beautiful You are; grant me the grace to cherish You.”

My prayer for those reading this article is that we too may discover the passion of Louis Riel for his Saviour Jesus Christ.

 

The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

-previously published in the North Shore News/Deep Cove Crier

-award-winning author of the book Battle for the Soul of Canada

P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.

Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.

Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?

Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.

If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you.

  •  

-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form.  Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca

To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.


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Louis Riel: Canadian Patriot?

By the Rev. Dr. Ed and Mark Hird

 

Who was Louis Riel?  Was he a patriot or a dissident or both?

 

Louis Riel was born at St. Boniface (Winnipeg, Manitoba) on October 22nd 1844, inheriting from his father a mixture of French, Irish and Aboriginal blood, with French predominating.

 

Louis’ mother Julie sent her son Louis to become Canada’s first Metis priest.  The 1864 death of his father however weighed heavily on Louis, bringing about an abrupt end to his seminary training.  Four months from becoming a priest, Louis met a young Montreal girl, fell in love, and decided to marry.  He rashly left the College of Montreal without obtaining his degree, and then his marriage plans collapsed when his fiancée’s parents forbade this proposed union with a Metis.  Embittered by this racist-rejection, Riel left Montreal in 1866 – without a wife, without a career, without money.

 

Returning home to the Red River settlement, Riel found that locusts had devastated the land. With the demise of the Hudson Bay Company’s influence, both Eastern Canada and the United States seemed poised to swallow up the Red River settlement.  The Metis felt forgotten, ignored and politically abandoned.

 

Without adequately consulting the local 12,000 Red River people, the Hudson Bay Company sold the Red River settlement to Eastern Canada.  Louis Riel rallied the Metis people in 1869 to take over the local Fort Garry, the Western nerve centre of the HBC.  Riel’s goal was to force the Federal Government to negotiate Manitoba’s admission into Confederation as a full province, not just a territory. The provincial name Manitoba, rather than the expected territorial name Assiniboia, came from Louis Riel himself.

 

Louis Riel proclaimed that the Metis were ‘loyal subjects of Her Majesty the Queen of England’. “If we are rebels, said Riel, “we are rebels against the Company that sold us, and is ready to hand us over, and against Canada that wants to buy us.  We are not in rebellion against the British supremacy which has still not given its approval for the final transfer of the country…We want the people of Red River to be a free people…”

 

The Americans watched the Red River Rebellion with keen interest.  Ignatius Donnelly, a former Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, said: ‘If the revolutionists of Red River are encouraged and sustained…, we may within a few years, perhaps months, see the Stars and Stripes wave from Fort Garry, from the waters of Puget Sound, and along the shore of Vancouver.’  In the summer of 1870, Nathanial F. Langford and ex-governor Marshall of Minnesota visited Riel at Fort Garry.  They promised Riel $4 million cash, guns, ammunition, mercenaries and supplies to maintain himself until his government was recognized by the United States.  Riel declined.

 

After William O’Donohogue ripped down the Union Jack, Riel immediately reposted the Union Jack with orders to shoot any man who dared touch it.  Despite his rebellious reputation, Louis Riel showed himself to be a Canadian patriot who single-handedly kept Western Canada from being absorbed by the USA.  Riel prayed in his diary: “O my God!  Save me from the misfortune of getting involved with the United States.  Let the United States protect us indirectly, spontaneously, through an act of Providence, but not through any commitment or agreement on our part.”  Riel also prophetically noted in his diary: “God revealed to me that the government of the United States is going to become extraordinarily powerful.”

 

“The Metis are a pack of cowards”, boasted Thomas Scott, “They will not dare to shoot me.” If it was not for Riel’s sanctioning of the tragic shooting of the Orangeman Thomas Scott, he might have ended up in John A Macdonald’s federal Cabinet.  Thomas Scott’s death made Riel ‘Canada’s most hated man’.

 

After fleeing to the United States, Riel was then elected in his absence as a Manitoba MP. The Quebec legislature in 1874 passed a unanimous resolution asking the Governor-General to grant amnesty to Riel.  That same year, after Louis Riel’s re-election as MP, he entered the parliament building, signed the register, and swore an oath of allegiance to Queen Victoria before slipping out to avoid arrest.  The outraged House of Commons expelled him by a 56-vote majority.

 

Exiled to Montana, Riel married and became a law-abiding American citizen. In 1884, with the slaughtering of the buffalo, many First Nations and Métis were dying of hunger.  The Metis in Saskatchewan convinced Riel to return to Canada.  Riel sent a petition to Ottawa demanding that the Metis be given title to the land they occupied and that the districts of Saskatchewan, Assiniboia and Alberta be granted provincial status.  The Federal Government instead set up a commission.  In the absence of concrete action, Louis Riel and his followers decided to press their claims by the attempted capture of Fort Carlton.

 

Due to the Canadian Pacific Railway, my great-grandfather Oliver Allen was shipped with the Toronto militia to quickly defeat Riel at Batoche.  Using an American Gatling gun with 1,200 rounds a minute, the battle did not last long.  While in the West, Oliver Allen met his future wife Mary Mclean a Regina Leader news-reporter sympathetic to Louis Riel.  Right before Riel’s hanging, Mary Mclean disguised herself as a Catholic priest in order to interview Riel.  Before Riel died, he prayed in his diary: “Lord Jesus, I love you.  I love everything associated with You…Lord Jesus, do the same favour for me that You did for the Good Thief; in Your infinite mercy, let me enter Paradise with You the very day of my death.”

 

The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, BSW, MDiv, DMin

-previously published in the North Shore News

-award-winning author of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’

P. S. Click this Amazon link to view for free the first two chapters of our new novel Blue Sky.

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident…”

12bdf6ff-3021-4e73-bccd-bc919398d1a0-7068-0000031133e7b4d9Sandy Brown and her family have just moved to Spokane, Washington where her husband, Scott, is pastoring a new church. With a fresh start, Sandy is determined to devote more time to her four children. But, within weeks of settling in their new life, the Brown family is plunged into turmoil.

Sandy receives shocking news that her children aren’t safe, which brings back haunting memories of the trauma she experienced as a girl. Then, the unthinkable happens…

A brutal attack puts Sandy on the brink of losing everything she’s loved. Her faith in God and the family she cherishes are pushed to the ultimate limit.

Is healing possible when so many loved ones are hurt? Are miracles really possible through the power of prayer? Can life return to the way it was before?

Blue Sky reveals how a mother’s most basic instinct isn’t for survival… but for family.

If you’re a fan of Karen Kingsbury, then you’ll love Blue Sky. Get your copy today on paperback or  kindle.

-Click to check out our marriage book For Better For Worse: discovering the keys to a lasting relationship on Amazon. You can even read the first two chapters for free to see if the book speaks to you.

  •  

-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form.  Dr. JI Packer wrote the foreword, saying “I heartily commend what he has written.” The book focuses on strengthening a new generation of healthy leaders. Drawing on examples from Titus’ healthy leadership in the pirate island of Crete, it shows how we can embrace a holistically healthy life.

In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a signed copy within North America, just etransfer at ed_hird@telus.net, giving your address. Cheques are also acceptable.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca 

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

-Click to purchase the Companion Bible Study by Jan Cox (for the Battle of the Soul of Canada) in both paperback and Kindle on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca 

To purchase any of our six books in paperback or ebook on Amazon, just click on this link.